Google+ Badge

Thursday, October 23, 2014

An Open Letter to Our District Staff about Twitter

Here's my Twitter Handle... Tweet Me Maybe?

In a time when we are asked to continually do more with less, I have found a
breath of fresh air that makes the "more" much easier. Social
media has always been something I've seen as a way to vent or catch up with old
friends or former students. When I ventured onto Twitter I thought it was
great that I could see all of the news from around the world so quickly.
That was the extent to which I thought my Twitter usage would be
utilized. Then my eyes opened to the endless professional possibilities
available on Twitter. In establishing my PLN (Professional Learning
Network), I've discovered other educators experiencing the same frustrations as
I am. These educators have offered sage advice and a spring board to
reinvigorating my daily pedagogy. I've long thought that I wasn't meeting
the students where they are; I was assuming they would meet me where I was.
This assumption added a tremendous amount of frustration to my daily life in
the classroom as I realized my relevance to my students had a short
lifespan.

Additionally, I found chats on Twitter that happen everyday of the week that
connect me to educators around the world. I now have connections in over
30 countries and just about every state in the US, and these connections have
so many great ideas and solutions to things with which I've been
struggling.

This year, I am teaching a Digital Citizenship class that requires me to
create a curriculum rich in content while connected to the Common Core.
I've connected with educators in the same situation and we are sharing
ideas. I've connected with educators who have already implemented this
class and are sharing their successes and challenges. Instead of feeling
isolated in creating a new curriculum, I have a wealth of resources that before
Twitter and my PLN was non existent.

Professional development is something that we all crave; however, I think we
have all felt at one point in our career, that maybe there was more out
there. Twitter allows for differentiated PD that YOU choose. Have a
passion for something education or curriculum related? Dive in! Have
questions about how other 3rd grade or 7th grade (etc.) teachers are
dealing with the Common Core? Dive in! Looking for tech help? Dive
in! The list goes on and on!

Beyond those resources, I've found things like Mystery Skype which sets you up
with a classroom anywhere in the world so you can learn, create, and
collaborate in real world projects. What a motivation for students!

There are so many things I'm learning everyday that I can't begin to list all
of them here. I feel it is so important for students to see us
being life long learners if we expect them to be eager learners and
eventually life long learners. I can help guide you if you are interested
in Twitter, or you can just dive in and explore on your own! Happy
Tweeting!! My Twitter handle: @apgovme